The Expanding World of Palm Tree Breeding: New Discoveries and Applications in the Post-Genomic Era

Dear Colleagues,

The palm family (Arecaceae) constitutes a plant group of exceptional global economic significance, generating tens of billions of dollars annually through a wide-ranging and essential array of products and services. Although sustainability and social impact challenges persist within certain sectors, the substantial overall economic contribution of palms underscores their critical importance in both global and local human well-being. Spanning major international commodities such as palm oil and palm kernel oil to fundamental sources of local sustenance and income, palms fulfill a multifaceted and indispensable role in both developed and developing nations. Their profound economic impact is evident across numerous sectors, including the food industry, personal care and cosmetics, animal feed, oleochemicals, manufacturing, construction, biofuels and energy, and ornamental horticulture, directly influencing the livelihoods of millions, particularly within tropical and subtropical regions.

The economic significance of palms is profoundly integrated into the socioeconomic structures of numerous communities globally. In international trade, several palm-derived products exert considerable influence, commanding substantial market values. Prominent examples include palm oil, palm kernel oil, coconut products (coconut oil, water, milk, and copra), date palm fruit, carnauba wax, and açaí palm products. Beyond these primary commodities, a diverse array of other palm products and applications significantly contribute to both local and international economies. These include ornamental palms (highly valued in landscaping and as indoor plants), rattan and palm fibers (for furniture, handicrafts, ropes, and textiles), palm sugar (extracted from the sap of various species for use in beverages and as a sweetener), and residual palm biomass (byproducts from the primary processing pathways are increasingly employed for energy generation, fertilizers, and other value-added products).

Challenges in Genetically Improving Palm Species: To sustain and enhance these extensive economic benefits, the genetic improvement of palm trees is paramount. However, the perennial nature and typically long life cycles of palms present several significant challenges for breeding programs. These inherent characteristics often result in slower progress compared to annual crops and necessitate substantial, long-term investment and resources. Palm breeding faces significant hurdles due to the protracted timelines associated with its life cycle: a long juvenile phase delaying reproduction, a prolonged period for evaluating crucial mature-stage traits, and consequently, a slow generation turnover. Practical challenges include the substantial land requirements for field trials and the complexities of controlled pollination in highly heterozygous outcrossing species, hindering the development of uniform traits. Furthermore, the lack of efficient vegetative propagation in many species limits rapid multiplication of superior individuals and can introduce plantation variability. The laborious and resource-intensive nature of progeny testing, coupled with the risk of inbreeding depression, requiring careful management, further complicates breeding efforts. Finally, maintaining sufficient genetic diversity is essential for long-term resilience and improvement, but adds another layer of complexity.

Integrating advanced biotechnological and post-genomic tools, such as plant tissue culture (producing cell suspensions, and haploid and doubled haploid generation), integrative biology (by means of Single-Omics Analysis and Multi-Omics Integration), genomic selection (GS), marker-assisted selection (MAS), precise genetic engineering, and genome editing (e.g., CRISPR/Cas9), is increasingly vital for overcoming hurdles in palm breeding. These technologies offer the potential to accelerate breeding cycles, enhance selection accuracy, and improve genetic enhancement efficiency.

This Special Issue of Plants seeks to inspire and collect studies developing and applying advanced biotechnological and post-genomic tools to boost the genetic improvement of palm trees.

Prof. Dr. Manoel Teixeira Souza Júnior
Prof. Dr. Luciano Vilela Paiva
Prof. Dr. Betania Ferraz Quirino
Guest Editors

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• arecaceae
• genetic Improvement
• biotechnology
• integrative Biology
• bioeconomy